As Ohio solidifies its role in the energy transition, hardware innovators are proving breakthrough technology can be built right here in the Heartland. Based in Worthington, Ohio, NavaFlex is an advanced materials startup tackling two of the most critical challenges in clean energy and human performance: high-efficiency superconducting wires for AI data centers, and flexible, washable batteries for smart textiles.
In this Q&A, Suvankar Sengupta and Ram Revur, Co-Founders of NavaFlex and clients of BRITE’s CXO Program, sit down with the BRITE team to discuss the company’s origins, technical breakthroughs, and current $1.5 million bridge fundraise.
Q: What is the origin story behind NavaFlex, and what inspired you and Ram to start the company?
Suvankar Sengupta: Ram Revur and I have worked together for nearly 25 years across small R&D companies. After spending more than two decades building advanced-materials solutions together, we believed it was time to create something of our own.
The opportunity crystallized around two market needs. Smart clothing offered a way to monitor aging family members remotely, but the lack of a flexible, washable battery kept those products from scaling. At the same time, our long-standing expertise in superconducting materials aligned with a major market pull in 2023 for high-power energy efficiency. Those needs gave us two distinct ways to apply our research to urgent real-world problems.
Ram Revur: Our backgrounds are complementary: Suvankar has a PhD in materials science and engineering, and I have a PhD in chemistry. In earlier R&D companies, we combined those skills to develop and apply nanomaterials for water purification, thermoelectrics, fuel cells, and lithium batteries. We were not only making and characterizing materials; we were solving the challenge of using them in real applications. That experience gave us the confidence to start NavaFlex. We also shared the same principle: we wanted to give something back by building technology that is genuinely useful to people and can help shape a better future.
Q: Can you break down NavaFlex’s two core technical focus areas and the specific problems they solve?
Suvankar Sengupta: We operate across two primary thrusts: flexible energy storage and high-temperature superconducting wires.
Our flexible, washable batteries target wearable technology and soft robotics. Standard rigid batteries limit product design and movement. By integrating energy storage seamlessly into fabric or distributing it across robotic systems, we can power sensors without concentrating energy in one bulky component.
Ram Revur: Wearables are moving toward continuous monitoring. Medical patients can track their physical health, military personnel can monitor readiness and performance, and athletes can use real-time data to improve while reducing the risk of injury. But people do not want rigid batteries against their bodies. Our approach makes the battery flexible and part of the fabric itself. We are effectively powering the fabric so it can support many different wearable applications.
Our superconducting wires target AI data centers and fusion energy. Traditional copper wiring loses up to 15 percent of its energy to heat and requires massive physical space. Superconductors transfer current with near-zero resistance, offering high power density at roughly 1/20th the size of copper installations for high-power demands over 650 megawatts. Because roughly 85 to 90 percent of superconducting wire currently originates overseas, building domestic production in Ohio is vital for both grid efficiency and national security.
Q: How does operating in Worthington, Ohio provide a strategic advantage for NavaFlex?
Suvankar Sengupta: Ohio provides an ideal environment for capital-efficient growth. We can achieve critical engineering milestones here on a fraction of the budget required in coastal hubs like Silicon Valley. The state also puts us near major universities, research assets, fashion companies, and the expanding semiconductor and data-center ecosystem. The ecosystem support from organizations like BRITE and the Dayton Entrepreneur Center is invaluable to us, as entrepreneurs who have to wear all the hats.
Ram Revur: Proximity to Ohio State University gives us direct access to enthusiastic, out-of-the-box thinkers. Interns made up 50 to 60 percent of our team in the company’s early years, and we still bring on five or six full-time interns in the summer, along with students who work during the academic year. The State of Ohio College Tech Internship Program helps match us with students across engineering and marketing while subsidizing wages, making the program valuable to both startups and Ohio’s future workforce.
As scientists who spent nearly 30 years in R&D, we also had to learn the business side quickly. The hands-on training and mentorship we received from BRITE Energy Innovators and the Entrepreneur Center have helped a lot.
Q: NavaFlex recently launched a $1.5 million bridge round. How will those funds be deployed, and what commercial progress have you made?
Suvankar Sengupta: Our board recently approved the official launch of our $1.5 million bridge raise, which is structured as a discounted SAFE note ahead of our planned Series A next year. We plan to allocate 30 percent of the round to customer acquisition, 55 percent to engineering and pilot manufacturing runs, and 15 percent to operations.
On the commercial front, we are already generating revenue. In fact, we closed three separate commercial product sales on the very day of our interview with BRITE. Market validation is underway, and this bridge round lets us accelerate customer acquisition and transition into pilot-scale manufacturing.
Q: Beyond the technology, what drives the NavaFlex team and how do you view your long-term legacy?
Suvankar Sengupta: People often stereotype PhD founders as purely research-focused, but Ram and I have spent decades in the trenches of small business. We have handled sales, strategic planning, product literature, conferences, financial accounting, and operations. Those experiences transformed us and prepared us to build NavaFlex at the right time.
Ram Revur: For more than 20 years, Suvankar and I have been active in cultural and nonprofit organizations focused on helping our community and giving back to the place where we raised our families. That same value shapes NavaFlex. We are not trying to become one more vendor selling something that is already in the market. We want to create truly unique products that can help shape the next generation and make the world better. That is how I hope our work is remembered.